A discussion article from the Osher Collaborative for Integrated medicine investigates the effects that taking an integrated approach to health can have on the wider world and whole planet view. 

This article comes to the conclusion that Integrative medicine can help the environment in three main ways.  

• First, it focuses on preventing illness, which reduces the need for resource-heavy healthcare.  

• Second, it teaches self-regulation techniques that can lead to more eco-friendly lifestyles and happiness that doesn’t depend on high carbon consumption. This is termed ‘lower carbon happiness’. 

• Third, it includes practices that can encourage people to care more about others and the environment. 

Introduction –

This is the sixth commentary through the JACM column partnership with the Osher Collaborative for Integrative Medicine. Our goal with these commentaries is to stimulate critical conversations in the field through perspectives from the leaders of the Collaborative’s seven prominent academically-based integrative centers. This column poses an interesting question: might widespread engagement of the integrative model be a healing balm for the planet? Many clinicians in the field instinctively assert this would be so. The authors marshal evidence from surprising corners to reach their affirmative conclusion.